Padel: Top Spin or No Top Spin? The Dilemma.

If you are an entry-level Padel player with some Tennis playing experience, you probably know that top spin is a key technique. But is it effective enough and should you use it in Padel?

Twenty years ago, if you learnt to play Padel, during your first Padel lesson you would hear: “… in Padel, we never use top spin because the ball bounces higher after hitting the back wall…”. And you still hear some old school Padel trainers preaching the old mantra: “… no top spin please…”

During the years, as the players and technology progressed, their techniques progressed too. The sport has changed and thus, for modern players and Padel trainers, the old truth about top spin is not valid anymore. Hence, the Top spin is recommended for specific situations.

Below are the situations when the Top spin is recommended:

Service return: As you return your opponent’s service, you want the ball to travel fast and head towards the feet of the serving player, as soon as it crosses the net.

Aggressive volley: Imagine you play a long rally and your opponents are very close to their own back-wall. If you get into a comfortable situation, where the ball is somewhat high, you should volley the ball with top spin and the ball will fly high away of reach of your opponents after bouncing on the wall.

Aggressive smash: if you want the ball to fly high after bouncing on the wall, hit it with top spin. As such, the ball will likely get out of the reach of your opponents.

And yet, use the top spin with moderation, because used under the wrong circumstances you will put your opponent in a comfortable situation to start a counter attack.